Copyright birminghammail
Fernando Silva is instigating a pickleball revolution in Birmingham and out to prove it is more than just a sport for retired tennis players. The 50-year-old, who is originally from Colombia, took up the sport - which combines different elements of other racket sports - six years ago. Now, he has set up Birmingham Pickleball Club after his tennis club in Edgbaston were reluctant to expand their pickleball offering. “I am very lucky,” Silva said. “My father-in-law is a Yorkshireman, who moved to Florida 25 years ago, and when we went to visit him six years ago, he introduced us to the sport. “He gave us our first paddles and I have been in love ever since. “I am a member of a tennis club in Birmingham, they used to have social pickleball sessions twice a week. “Unfortunately, it is still a tennis-orientated club, they believe pickleball is only for tennis players who can no longer play tennis. “I was a big ambassador there and tried to grow the sport as much as possible, but I collided with their mentality. “So I decided to start my own club, and a few of us we started that and we founded Birmingham Pickleball and we’ve been going four months now.” Pickleball is rapidly growing in popularity in the UK, with Pickleball England now boasting 15,000 registered members. It first developed as a backyard game in the US, and is named after the pickle boat in rowing, which sees spare rowers from different teams form a crew. The name reflects the sport, which has borrowed from other racket sports, as it is played on a badminton doubles-sized court and features playing styles seen in tennis and table tennis. The game is played with a solid paddle and a perforated plastic ball, while players can only score points on their serve. Birmingham Pickleball Club were well represented at the 2025 Knotty’s English Nationals in Bolton last week, which saw over 1,300 players in action across 57 age and skill categories. Silva added: “We have a very nice community, pickleball is so social and we love how inclusive it is. We have four sessions a week and we are loving it. “We already have 100 people as part of the club. We have four sessions a week across three venues. “We were invited by Birmingham City University to their freshers to showcase the sport and now we run a session for the students once a week where we have the students and some of them have joined as our members, we are really happy about it. “It brings the best in everybody, if you want to play recreationally or socially, whichever way you want. “Family can play together, it is inclusive for every age bracket and it is a win-win for mental health, for everything. “It is a fascinating sport and you see it every day, when we have someone new play, they fall in love with sport and that is the beauty of the sport. “Plus the people you get to meet, events like this, everyone is so fantastic.” PLEASE LEAVE IN FINAL PAR – Pickleball England had a record number of players at the 2025 Knotty’s English Nationals. The tournament took place from 30 October to 2 November at Bolton Arena. For more information: https://www.pickleballengland.org
